West Brom caretaker boss Nigel Pearson has admitted Bryan Robson's departure as manager is "a big shock to us all" after his 22-month reign at The Hawthorns was ended by mutual consent.

WEST Brom caretaker boss Nigel Pearson has admitted Bryan Robson's departure as manager is "a big shock to us all" after his 22-month reign at The Hawthorns was ended by mutual consent.

Robson, who was working on a 12 month rolling contract, has paid the price for Albion's disappointing results since early in the New Year.

The Baggies were relegated from the Barclays Premiership after failing to win any of their final 13 games of last season and a 1-1 draw against Southend on Saturday in the Coca-Cola Championship proved to be the final straw for the former England captain.

That result left a section of Albion fans calling for Robson's head and less than 48 hours later his spell at the club he graced as a player in the late 1970s came to an end.

Pearson will be in charge for tomorrow's Carling Cup clash with Cheltenham but how long he remains at the helm will depend on chairman Jeremy Peace's ability to quickly appoint a successor to Robson.

Pearson, who has enjoyed a long working relationship with Robson stretching back to his days at Middlesbrough, said: "What has happened came as quite a big shock for all of us. I spoke to Bryan today and he is, as you would expect, disappointed and upset.

"He has a sense of unfinished business but that's football. Bryan spoke to the players at the training ground and also the staff. The players were subdued and disappointed.

"It has come out of the blue. Everyone would agree on that. There is a fine line between success and failure and that is the situation in football.

"But I feel the club is in a much healthier state than it was before Bryan arrived at the club."

Chairman Peace, in a statement, said: "After much deliberation and in view of the results since early 2006, it has been decided a change is necessary if the club is to achieve its aims for this season and beyond.

"This is a very important time for West Brom. With promotion a priority, the board felt that given the club's current league position, the best way forward was to agree to make a change now."

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Robson, who replaced Gary Megson in November 2004, issued a short statement in which he backed the current squad to win promotion to the Premiership at the first attempt.

He said: "I've really enjoyed the short time I've been at West Brom. The fans have been different class and I just hope, with the squad of players in place, that they can get back up to the Premier League - which I really believe they will do this season.

"I do think there is a really good squad at the club and it's only a matter of time before they get it right, climb the table and win promotion. As far as I'm concerned, the matter is now closed."

Robson became a hero 16 months ago when, against all the odds, he kept Albion in the top flight after they had been bottom of the table at Christmas 2004 and eight points adrift of safety the following month.

But Albion struggled to gain any momentum during the final part of last season and a 2-0 home win over Blackburn in February proved to be their last success of the campaign.

Robson and Peace worked hard to keep the bulk of the squad together for a push to gain instant promotion and the likes of Curtis Davies, Paul Robinson and Zoltan Gera were persuaded to stay.

But Albion's form has been patchy this season, particularly away from home where they have collected only two points from a possible 12 to follow on from last season's dismal record away from The Hawthorns of only one Premiership win - against Wigan in January.

Peace will now begin his search to find the ideal successor to former Manchester United star Robson.

The likes of former Aston Villa boss David O'Leary and ex-Wolves manager Glenn Hoddle are currently available although, when the job was last vacant, people of the quality of Gordon Strachan and Gerard Houllier were in contention.

In the meantime, Pearson has to ensure the Albion players are in the right frame of mind to avoid slipping up against League One side Cheltenham at The Hawthorns.

He said: "They are professionals and I would expect them to prepare as professionally as possible. Hopefully there will be a good reaction from the players."